Illinois Weekly Wrap-Up
By: Scott Bush
IllinoisRunner.com
Anderson, McCoy, Clarke, and Bastert shine in girls competition
Here are the key marks that took place in Illinois. Some of these marks are simply awesome. The best marks were put up by Alexandria Anderson, Bethany McCoy, Shalina Clarke and Katelyn Bastert. Bastert will most likely be running the 4x8, 3200, 800 and 1600 next weekend at state, which is simply unheard of. Next weeks girls state meet should be one of the best ones ever!
- On Saturday at Thornwood High School a lot of great marks occurred. Here is what went down:
- By far the highlight of the meet was Alexandria Anderson (Jr., Chicago Morgan Park). She performed an amazing sprint triple and also won the long jump. She lept 19' 1.75" to win the long jump by nearly two feet. In the 200m dash she ran 23.5 to beat Briana Lynn (Sr., Thornwood), who ran 24.8. Lynn is one of the best sprinters in the state as well. Anderson then won the 100m dash and the 400m dash as well. She won the 400m dash in 54.3, winning by 3.3 seconds (Lynn was second in 57.6). Anderson has some of the best times in the nation.
- Thornwood High School beat Chicago Morgan Park 156-116. These two teams are going to be fighting it out once again next weekend at state.
- Thornwood High School took over the top spot on the 4x400m relay listings. They ran 3:58.1, winning beating Chicago Morgan Park by just over six seconds. They are the favorites in this event next weekend.
- On Friday night at Palatine High School, Palatine High School and Evanston Township High School had a great show down. Palatine beat the pre-state favorites 149-134. Palatine is a team contender to bring home a trophy once again this year. Some impressive marks happened as well.
- Shalina Clarke (So., Evanston Twp.) ran another awesome 300m IH race. This time she blew away the field, winning in an amazing 42.2. Second place was Carolyn Vasquez (Sr., Hersey), in 45.8. Clarke also won the 100m HH in 14.1, won the long jump in 18' 1" and took second in the 200m dash in 24.3.
- Traciann Henry (Sr., Evanston Twp.), the leader of the Evanston squad, won both the 100&200 meter dashes. She won the 100m race in 12.1 and won the 200m race in 24.2.
- On Friday at Bartlett High School a great 4x800m relay took place. Barrington High School barely beat Geneva High School is a great and incredibly close race. Barrington ran 9:23.7 to Geneva's 9:24.1. These are now the top two times in the state this year. Also, state pole vault favorite Sarah Landau (Sr., Geneva) continued to impress as she vaulted 11' 9" to easily win the vault. She will be shooting for the state record next weekend in Charleston.
- At Bloomington High School on Friday night, Bethany McCoy (Sr., Metamora) improved upon her state best 800m time when she ran 2:13.12 (FAT) to win the mid-distance race by three seconds.
- At Lisle High School on Saturday, Andrea Norris (Sr., Lisle) became the hands down Class A favorite to win both the 100 and 200 meter dashes. She blitzed both fields running 11.75 and 24.78 (both FAT). Her team also made a statement and should be a team shooting for a team title next weekend.
- At Elk Grove High School Friday a great 800 meter race took place that produced three times under 2:18. Jen Toler (Jr., Elk Grove) took third in 2:17.9, Rachel Hernandez (Sr., Fenton) was second in 2:17.0 and Molly Sullivan (So., York) won in 2:15.9, which is the second best time in the state.
- The Downers Grove North High School sectional produced some great hurdle times, led by Jackie Walton (Sr., Hinsdale South). Walton won the 100m HH in 14.3, while she also took the 300m IH crown in 44.3. Both of these marks are top five in the state. Walton has been improving a lot the last few weeks and is really hitting her stride heading into next weekend, when it counts the most.
- It looks as if freshman phenom Katelyn Bastert (Fr., Carthage) will be running four events at state. Bastert's 4x8 relay team made state, as she helped guide them to a win. Bastert also won the 3200, 800 and 1600. In the 3200m run she ran 10:50.4, winning by over a minute and a half. In the 800m run she won in 2:21.9, while in the 1600m race she just cruised home for a win in 5:06.7, winning by a half minute. It will be interesting to see what type of times she will put up at state. |
